Buns of Steel 4

Tamilee Webb

I picked up this 1994 tape in one of those 3 for $10 bins, and this somewhat dated tape was definitely worth it at that price. This is part of the original buns of steel series, and while it is less innovative and exciting than some of Tamilee’s newer stuff, it offers a thorough lower body workout.

Tamilee uses a step and hand weights to increase the intensity, but I quickly found that this also increased the knee strain significantly. I did the tape without the step, and was able to finish the workout with no problems, and with no doubt at all that I’ll be feeling this tomorrow. This is a no-nonsense, no frills tape, one on one with Tamilee.

The tape is split into two sections. The first, lasting approximately 20 minutes, is done standing. First, there is a series of front lunges onto the step---first alternating legs, then doing one leg at a time. There are some pulsing reps in here that I have seen other tapes caution against, so I modified and just did regular lunges. Next you do reverse lunges in the same manner, first alternating, then doing one at a time. Following this, a similar combo of one-legged squats is done off the step: a slow set, then one at tempo, then repeated. The standing section closes with a long series of squat pulses with plyo-type jumps around the step in all directions.

The floor section, lasting around 15 minutes, was significantly less intense. Tamilee alternates in some ab work here: a pelvic lift series is mixed with oblique crunches, and following the subsequent leg lift series, regular crunches are mixed with pelvic contractions. I thought there was too much “pelvic” work here: I would have preferred more leg lifts or intense floor work. I am an expert modifier, and will probably do my own thing during the pelvic work if I do this tape again.

The setting and music are very plain, and the work is not terribly imaginative. But it is effective, if you like lunges and squats, and you might enjoy this tape if you are a Tamilee fan. These days, there are certainly workouts of this nature with a higher “fun” factor, but if you see this tape in the discount bin, it’s not a bad extra to have around.